Peru, the trip, the work... The Start.

We've been back in the States a week and I'm still figuring out how to write about our three weeks in Peru. Part of the issue is that my trusty notebook, with all my travel notes and thoughts, went AWOL about a day after we arrived home. Another issue is the nature of the work... I'm unsure of some of the ownership details of the photographs I took and feel that if I put them online before the Magazine has chosen which they are using that I could get in a sticky situation. The third issue is workflow, which does not exist. This issue relates to how we store photographs, how I process them, and the tools I use to do all of the above. Paul has a great storage system arranged for us... it just takes me hours to use it because my little 'puter can't handle much, doesn't have much in terms of software, and has display problems. The new baby has been ordered, so that last issue should be somewhat fixed in another week or so. Until then, all I'm really doing is cropping photos and trying to organize them.


Some lessons learned about photography gigs:

-- They get harder when the gig is everyday for 3 weeks. It's hard to keep up with the volume, keep equipment ready and waiting, and stay fresh. (That said, I totally loved every minute.)

-- Make sure your cameras have the same time/date set. I didn't do this and because we used two cameras, putting the photos in a chronological order is an ongoing nightmare. Combined with how S.L.O.W. it is to do anything with the photos from my computer, it is a real time-sink... but completely necessary.

-- I was up late every night emptying memory cards, checking back-ups to make sure everything was safe, trying to upload backup copies to our home network, and checking that equipment was charged and ready for the next day. These things all sound easy, but were actually very difficult when you've been up since 3:30am (we had many days that started before 5am)... the bottom line is that Paul was my saving grace for everything. As always. The perfect partner for all of the work of the trip.

-- Anytime you find yourself asking whether you should take something, the answer is YES. Every Darn Time we asked, 'should we take the tripod?' or 'should we take the flash?' or said 'maybe we should only take one camera'... every single time we went with the pesky thought, we regretted it. Bottom line: haul it all.

-- I am ready for a battery pack. Bring on the weight.

-- Although we were in many situations where pick-pockets are plentiful, crime goes unchecked, and poverty and desperation are high... I never, ever felt myself to be more at risk because of my camera(s). Yes, we watched ourselves. Yes, we were smart. Yes, we traveled in groups and always had guides who knew the community. But in the end, I actually think that having the GEAR made me/us more conspicuous. The cameras stood out so much that theft would have been obvious. Better to slink away with a pocket camera than a several pound beast with a wide angle lens attached. Plus, I typically had conversations with those I photographed and explained who I was, what I was doing, and what it was for -- this opened a ton of doors for us. While there were some who requested I not photograph, more often than not, people not only were happy to be photographed but offered suggestions and help.

-- If I ever do this again, I will approach it completely differently. I didn't fully grasp how to handle both roles (teaching assistant AND photographer/photojournalist) until the end of the class. It took a few days of doing both to see what worked and what didn't.


If I could leverage this type of photography within public heath work on a regular basis... wow. Even thinking about it is overwhelming.

Fish market pictures are up. There is a short description there, too...

Update

We leave early tomorrow for Sacred Valley.

Dan Amor

Echoing Paul... we are doing great. We are ´round the clock busy with class stuff, which is a challenge of logistics, and then the added extra challenge of having the job to photographically document everything... which is a mental, physical, AND logistic challenge. Photographing ¨health in Peru¨is one thing... photographing students learning about health in Peru is another thing all together. One really awesome thing, though, Paul is getting hooked on photography. My heart skipped a beat tonight when he told me how he loved the 10D and completely understood now why I wanted two bodies before this trip.

We will take some time tomorrow to write more about what we are actually doing and have done. But some highlights include eating termites, tasting hallucinagic ´ayahausa´ (google it), having a shaman call spirits to help us learn about health, and riding in tiny picapica boats through the most contaminated place I´ve ever seen. All fascinating.

But my point... our kids miss us. They are doing fine, they will survive, but if you are around them or in a place where you can send a quick love package, IT WOULD REALLY MAKE AN IMPACT. Our gratitute to all who can give ém a little extra love now...

Estamos en Iquitos

Paul and I are sitting in a hot, sticky internet cafe (El Cyber) on the Plaza de Armas in Iquitos, a city which may hold the record for being the largest city in the world inaccessible by car. Mototaxis rule here, providing the bass to the continued 80s soundtrack of our trip. It´s great... we´re great... and we are safe.

Tomorrow we take off on the Amazon. Over dinner, we learned about several monsters that steal people from the river and jungle. Not counting the mosquitos, crocodiles, and pirranha. So keep your fingers crossed for our safe return on Sunday...

A few words about weather in Lima

Lima is situated in an arid, coastal desert -- it never rains here. Spaniards settled Lima mostly because of the location of three rivers which rolled full of glacial melt-off from the Andes into the ocean. Those once plentiful rivers are now trickles of water which still are responsible for providing much of the city with water. If I can, I would like to try and take some photographs of one of the rivers (Rimac, in particular, is my hope -- it is hard to describe the vision of the homes perched precariously on the edges of the riverside, or cliffside, since the river is so low). Water is serious business here. Run on a water platform and you can get elected! I read somewhere that roughly half of the population of the city of Lima uses less water per day that is recommended for survival in refugee camps. I myself have seen mothers clean their children's faces with dry rags... sort of re-arranging dust and dirt in want of some water to help the job along. Fights over the barrels of water filled outside of homes in shantytowns are not uncommon, bringing along all sorts of questions about how one develops a new community, how settlement should occur, and how new settlements should be laid out with respect to household water supplies.

It is winter here, cold and damp. La garua, a fine mist that hangs through the air of the city, keeps everything damp... and without the benefit of indoor heating, there is no escape. Imagine living in a tiny crowded tent, with a dirt floor and woven mats for walls and ceiling, with a constant drizzle drifting into your clothes to your skin. Even with relatively warm temperatures in the 60s, this constant cool translates to a cold that sets deep in your bones. Respiratory illnesses, including TB (and more alarming, rising cases of MDR-TB) are widespread.

So far, we've handled the weather with fleece and layers. It's been pleasant, even though the grey skies and near shadowless days remind me of those impossible Michigan winters when I felt that the world existed only in 2-dimensions of grayscale color. Thankfully, the damp air is warm enough for plants... doorsteps and courtyards are filled with geraniums, cacti, ficus, coleus, and other bright and colorful foliage.

Estamos Aqui

Three flights, no delays, Green taxi, no hitches.

Some notes: Spirit does not give anything on flights... no drinks, snacks, or meals. Drinks and snacks are available only for credit card purchase... when their credit card machine is working. Pack a dinner.

Even with lack of meal on 6 hour flight, Spirit was worth it because we booked early and paid an extra $20 for one of 8 "big front seat" seats. Awesome.

Paul and I are sharing a 'habitacion matrimonal' with a shared bathroom in One Hostel in Barranco, which has it's own facebook page. It's very clean.

So far, the constant soundtrack has been 80s pop... Tears for Fears, Eurthymics, Men Without Hats. Resting and settling tomorrow... Monday morning we start with the course orientation.

It's Official!

I've been holding my breath with excitement and finally today... it's official! I've been hired to TA a short summer course in Peru! It gets better: only part of the job is to TA. The OTHER part of the job is that the Dean's Office is hiring me as a photographer to document the trip for Tulane's Global Health Magazine!

The course includes amazing speakers from a variety of areas; mostly focused on the role of environment in health. The first several days are in and around Lima; then approximately 4-5 days are spent in and around Iquitos, including 2 days floating down the Amazon. It's still being determined what areas in the Andes we'll visit. (La Oroya is the only location on the current itinerary.) This is the third year the course is being offered and the syllabus has been a little different each time.

Even better, Paul is going to come, too!! We're beyond thrilled about the whole thing. Did I mention that I'm getting paid to do this?

El terremoto en Peru

We have been closely following the recovery from the devastating earthquake in Peru and hearts and minds are with our friends in that beautiful country. Pisco was the only place we visited outside of Lima -- a beautiful little fishing village with a military base, with vacation spots in Paracas for travelers to enjoy the beach and nearby Islas Ballestas and Nazca Lines. Our visit co-incided with the Pisco festival (a strong drink that I passed on, but Paul was liberally given by our gracious hosts) and we truly enjoyed our time there. (Link on the "Peru" link to read the posts from our brief homestead.) Had Katrina not come, had the levees not failed, we would most likely be living in Lima and had experienced all of this first-hand.

Although I have not had news from several friends in the area, I have seen several updates from expats living in Peru, including information on relief efforts. From this information, I know of several small groups who are working directly towards relief efforts with no overhead. (These include the local American-Canadian Association, where a friend of ours is very active (Jim, who taught in a high school attended by bloggers BC4 and JMR and who we had lunch with the weekend before moving back to the States) and a English/Spanish school based in Lima. Both have direct contacts with families and colleagues in the Pisco/Ica area. Also, a friend of mine is going to Lima in about a week and will be bringing making some small deliveries to friends on our behalf. Should anyone be interested in contributions, please contact me.)

La Republica ran a great story about the history of earthquakes in Peru and Wikipedia also has some historical reference information.

Update

Location: Paul picked us all up yesterday and brought us home to NOLA... including cats, Will, Paul's computer, and as much luggage as you can cram in a PT cruiser (we call it the Pay-Tay).

Me: Still sick, but seem to be getting better or at least not getting worse. The sad fact that pregnant women take three times longer to beat viruses truly sucks.

Our car: No update, yet. We should hear something today about the rain test simulation.

ID theft: There is a suspect, a disgruntled ex-SAIC employee with ties to HR. Because of the nature of the work SAIC does and the type of data compromised, the guy is being hunted for espionage. So things are looking good on that front.

Fun surprises: A huge pile of Christmas, birthday, Valentines and other fun surprises awaited us at home. Including a Halloween book sent by Aunt Deb and Uncle Gary for Will back in October! (Finally, the post system seems to be getting to a bit of the backlog!)

Sad things: NOLA looks bad. I'm beginning to question the decision to have Mardi Gras -- for two reasons. One is that the 3+ million to put it on seems silly when the city is in such shambles and I question whether the city will really see the revenue that the party usually pulls in. The second, and more pressing, is that I think it gives the wrong idea. The situation here is so dire, so severe, and so forgotten that I think putting on a party gives the impression that we're past the worst and on to better, which is quite far from the truth.

All else: Will wait until after the holiday.

When it rains...

Paul, driving the smoky (ugh) PT cruiser rented for us by VW, arrived in NOLA around 10:30 last night.

And found that we've been victims of identity theft. Apparently, there was some sort of mess up in his company (SAIC) that compromised several employees out of the DC office. Guess who was among them??? So, someone managed to get Paul's information -- and although both his first and last names are spelled incorrectly -- acquired charge cards and went to town at a Target in North Carolina to a tune in the four digits.

To sum up:
- I'm still sick, sick, sick.
- We're victims of identity theft (compliments of SAIC).
- We're still being denied access to our FSA dollars (again, compliments of SAIC).
- Our car is dead. Warranty, although assumed, has not been verified.
- We've got a rental car, under assumed warranty, that smells like a damn ashtray.
- Tulane *still* hasn't correctly processed my tuition waiver from last summer.
- Regionsbank (our mortgage holder) screwed up our early mortgage payment (again) which means we have to bug them about fixing it, removing the late fees, and re-issuing our tax forms from last year.

The good news:
- My parents are healthy and wonderful. They have both risen to the occassion and are helping us out immensely with Will and however else they can (use of vehicles, etc.)
- Paul is somehow still sane. And he managed to salvage his work and our quicken files from the dead hard-drive and will be able to get back to normal work soon.
- We have a wonderful contact at Regions and feel confident we can fix that problem without too much headache.
- Our house in NOLA was watched carefully by attentive neighbors and kept with loving care by friends Alex, Carol, and Leigh Anne, to whom we are very thankful.

It rolls downhill and sometimes you're at the bottom of the mountain

We miss Lima.

The trip back was fine. Will continues to live up to his reputation as World Most Incredible Kid, dealing with both flights, bag searches, plane changes, excessive security checks and more with patience and good humor (two things rarely displayed in your average 2-year old.)

The shit started to roll soon after we arrived in Mobile. I'll just make a list of the crap on our heads.

I am sick. I think Will picked up a little bug during our final days in Lima (he and I woke with sore throats on Wednesday morning) and while Will bounced back, I have been riding a downward spiral ever since. We made it to the midwife prenatal yesterday (went great; my weight gain is still fabulous at 19.5 pounds at the end of my 28th week and it looks like my iron levels are also remaining impressive) and I crashed shortly after getting back from the appointment. It's going to be a few days in bed for me.

Within an hour after we arrived, Paul discovered that our the power adapter he needs for my computer (remember, Paul's died) was missing. Paul talks about this on his blog, so you can get the jist there, but basically, it was there during a bag search in Lima -- and it was not there when we unpacked yesterday. This is a Big Deal.

We set our for the prenatal appointment a little early yesterday so Paul could pick up another power adapter (his only option) at Best Buy, getting into our 2002 VW Passat Wagon which had been sitting on my parent's driveway for the past 6 weeks. My Dad went out and ran the car weekly for about 30 minutes per run and we felt confident the car would be fine. Why wouldn't we? We impecibly maintain it and all services have been on time and within dealerships. Not more than a half mile down the road, the car goes bonkers. I mean *bonkers*. We assume an electrical problem, realize that we could damage the engine by driving it, turn around and take my parents car. On the way to Pensacola, I call the dealership, who (like us) assumes a low voltage on the battery. We ask my Dad (home early to see Will) to go out and run the car; he tries five times, but the thing is dead. It's still under warranty, so we call the dealership for a tow. Bottom line: there is something seriously wrong with the car. Apparently, there is some sort of leak that has been letting in rain water (something we have since discovered that is not uncommon in VWs) and there is water throughout the floorboards. Thankfully, we've been using this dealership since moving from Michigan (easier to have it serviced here where we have my parents to help with transportation since we're a one-car family) and they serviced the car during our post-Katrina time in Mobile. They know the car didn't flood and saw it post-storm. So, they put trust in us and put through an early authorization on a rental. We just picked up the rental (a PT cruiser -- the last car on the lot -- it's Mardi Gras time in Mobile and rental cars are hard to find) so Paul will be able to get back to NOLA for his work machines and backups this weekend. Our car will get assessed by a flood expert on Monday and we should know more then. We have to believe that this will all be under warranty -- how could it not?

So I'm sick, we're car-less and clueless on the cars' problem(s), and -- just to kick us while we're down -- we're still in the throws of grappling with Paul's flexible spending account program over Will's daycare and it's gone up a knotch to the point that we're close to entering small claims court. Paul has also talked about this on his blog, but the bottom line is that pre-Katrina, Will was to start a part-time daycare program run through Tulane in the fall. We enrolled to set aside pre-tax dollar monies in a flexible spending account to pay the tutition. We had about $850 in the account when Katrina hit. The daycare flooded. We un-enrolled because we didn't know what was going to happen and it was obvious he wasn't going to go there in the fall because Tulane was closed. The paperwork Paul signed stated that disenrolling meant that we would forefit any funds that weren't used by the end of the calendar year -- we actually double checked this at the time because we wanted to make sure we'd still have the option of using the funds if we could find an alternative, but since we didn't know the situation, didn't want to keep putting money in the account. Turns out that we did use daycare dollars for the couple of weeks of part-time care we had in November and December. When we put in for re-imbursement, the company claimed that our disenrolling meant we forefitted everything. And they've just come out from "reviewing" the claim to back the previous statement and refuse to look at it again. So, we're being denied our own money, put inside of an account for our use --- which we used, within the specified time limit, for the specified purpose, by a specified provider, and applied for within the specified manner. In other words -- the crooks! The HR at Paul's company seems to be working on this in the sense that they are sending a lot of emails (pardon my sarcasm on this one, but I feel like this should be HR's problem, not ours) but nothing seems to be happening. Our next step: small claims court.

And so I repeat: we miss Lima.

Houston, we have a problem...

...was the subject line of the email Paul sent out yesterday morning. At 6am, all was fine. When Paul came back a little later after making breakfast, his computer had died. Not a good thing for a full-time telecommuter. It would take several days to re-create his full development environment on my computer, but he has been able to download enough stuff (taking up most of his work-day on Monday with non-chargeable hours) to be productive today. He thinks that most of what he lost was not work related and will be able to salvage fragments of other things (like our Quicken data) once we're back in the States. We contemplated trying to change our tickets to get home a day or two sooner, but decided against it due to logistics and cost. It's changed the dynamics of our going home a bit and means we'll probably drop decent dough on two machines for Paul before coming back. It also means limited updates on coldspaghetti while my beloved workhorse of a machine plays pinch-hitter. Talk about an "oh shit!" sort of day!

Pachacutec

I spent a wonderful day on Friday in Pachacutec with Barbara, a nun serving with Medical Mission Sisters. Barbara is an absolute delight; I feel a great kinship with her and adored our day together. I cannot imagine a better attache into the community!

About Pachacutec.... Pachacutec is a very new "pueblo joven" to the north of Lima. It is technically in Callao (the location of the Lima airport, also called the Lima-Callao airport) and rests along the dry coastal land on the edge of the Pacific. The Garcia administration set aside this area as a "special project" in 1988. By 1992, 9,000 lots had been auctioned. Approximately 2,000 additional settlers made informal occupation (called "invasion" around these parts), mostly related to internal migration of refugees affected by the terrucos. Development was slow due to lack of basic services (no water, sewage, or electricity) and distance from major roads.

Then in 2000, Fujimori ordered a relocation of some 7000+ "invading" families from Villa El Salvador (an older, more established pueblo joven in the southern extreme of Lima) to Pachacutec. For the first six months, the government assisted with necessities (food, water, blankets, trash collection, straw mats used as building materials for shelters, etc.) and then NGOs took over in these aids and began to support the formation of community organizations.

Today, 70% community has electricity. There is no water or sewage. Large trash buckets (usually the color blue) sit outside of most houses (or on top of more newly constructed, concrete houses) and are filled up daily by a hose extending from a water truck. No phone lines; I'm not sure if my cell functioned but for some reason I feel confident it probably did. The majority of the buildings are made from straw mats or plywood. About a third have cement floors. Few have latrines; most of the community utilize septic tanks. Several preschools, primary schools and clinics dot the community with others currently in construction.
Churches of several denominations also exist (Catholic and evangelical, from what I understood.) In short, it is a population living in poverty and extreme poverty. It is also one of the most fantastic communities I have visited here in Peru.

Barbara and I road the purple bus to Pachacutec for about an hour from her current home in Callao (about a 30-40 minute ride from our house in Miraflores). We road up the coast, past the oil refineries and manufacturing plants that line industrial Callao's shore. A highlight of the ride: the young man with painted red nose and oversized, brightly colored pants who hopped on the bus, told jokes, and passed around a bag of chocolates (for a fee) which he claimed "cured diabetes." He received some genuine laughter from the crowded bus and I was impressed at the level of respect and patronage he got from the passangers. How enterprising! The last few miles of our trip were on unpaved roads, through a small wetland preserve and into the dry, sandy hills that look out to the Pacific.

We had lunch in a comedor popular, a community kitchen, staffed by community members who sell hot lunches at reduced cost to members (mostly children and adolescents). I took the opportunity to talk some with a few residents; although I wish I had done more of this. While people were at first leary of me in appearance (I'm a pregnant gringa) the moment I began to show interest they lit right up to me with friendly faces and words. From there, we went into one of the local sectore markets (one market per sector) complete with a station, equipped with megaphone perched high overhead, for making announcements and playing music. A few steps into the wonderful market, Barbara ran into a friend, Sr. Gonzales, who was the former system announcer! (Word on the street is that he was replaced due to age.) The Sr. was so warm, friendly, and charismatic. We talked about the election (he's supporting Lourdes -- and Crisco, he loves the current Chilean top dog), politics, and the community. Barbara and I agreed that he should run for local political office.

After our market chat, we headed over to one of the clinics, where we ran into several people who run anti-violence training programs in the community (a very lucky situation!) We spent awhile chatting, the staff welcomed my use of the ladies' room, and we enjoyed a few minutes out of the scorching sun. As with other communities in Lima, respiratory illness is a major, major problem in Pachacutec, as well as skin diseases, chronic diarrheas, and other GI problems. (Given the conditions... sand dunes, lack of water and sewage, high humidity, and poor ventilation -- there is not much a health center can do but provide bandaids to ease the symptoms of the diseases of poverty.) Our final stop was to the large MIMDES (Ministry of Women and Social Development) office. We met with Sonya, the community violence prevention coordinator, and her staff. Brilliant folk -- including one energetic woman who sold us a few cans of homemade beans before taking off to another meeting. (Funny moment: the beans came up during an interesting conversation segway and I actually thought that she was selling the cans as armas to carry for protection. Big laugh.)

Out of all the communities I've visited, this one by far felt the best. I loved the people, loved being there, and honestly cannot wait to return. It was a great day -- exhausting and fulfilling!

Moments with the Monkey and the Wombat

Be sure to check out Paul's blog for pictures he's been promising. Including some fun stuff with Will and home improvement, Wombat-style. (Remember that treacherous perch hanging the shutters last spring? This one raised the bar a bit!)

For inspiration and understanding

In high school we were forced to read Hemingway. I hated it. I thought (and still think) that he is a misogynist, somewhat trite author, and a bit of a bore (although I'll give him a little redemption for Old Man and the Sea). However, a poem in the forward to one of his books struck me. For years it was plastered to my bedroom wall, showing up in Grandma Betty's and following me to my college dorm. Somewhere along the way, the paper and the poem disappeared, and honestly, I had not thought about it in years.

I came across it yesterday and immediately copied it in my notebook. Looking back to it, I can't help but think that these words had somehow sunk into my subconscious, subtly shaping my thoughts and experiences over the years. If someone asks for a reason I am in my chosen field, or the why for where my passions lie, I think that these words sum up the answer better than anything I could muster...

No man is an island,
entire of itself;
everyman is a piece of the Continent,
A part of the Main;
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind;
and therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

John Donne, Devotions, XVII

Back to reality

This time next week, we'll be back in the States. I've been mum so far on our State-side situation, letting Paul take the reign on discussion of our thoughts and conflicts. Reading about what is going on back home is sickening enough... I haven't been able to stomach the thought of taking the next step and writing about it.

The bottom line is that we don't have a clue what we are going to do when we get back -- the choices eat away at us daily. Katrina changed our worlds drastically, even if those outside of it seem completely unable to comprehend the level of destruction and chaos that fills the lives of Gulf Coast residents -- most especially those in Southeast Louisiana. We feel both the draw of going back to a city and home we love and the pull of leaving, because unlike so many others, we actually can. The choice is not one we take lightly or one that can be easily understood.

What hurts the most is the continued play of politics at all levels at the expense of the people of New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana. A consolidated levee board is the right thing to do (do we really need another committee to be formed to help the levee committees work together?) yet long-standing tradition, politics, and stubborness halt any change. Blanco, finally showing some backbone, called a special session for Louisiana's elected officials in New Orleans (rather than Baton Rouge), which began with a bus tour of the city. Many Louisiana officials have yet to see the devistation in the city. As those who know say over and over again, you absolutely cannot even begin to fathom the vastness and terror of the destruction until you have seen it. Some of the responses from officials who took the tour:

Rep. Jean Doerge, D-Minden, who was on her first trip to the area, said she was amazed at the extent of damage. "This is an eye-opener to what we are really facing," she said. The bus tour "has had an effect on me. . . .I know better what we are up against. It is absolutely unbelievable. You look out here and say it's been five months and you still see devastation."

Rep. Donald Cazayoux, D-New Roads, who has made a few trips to the area, most recently in November, called the lack of progress in clearing debris "incredible. I was expecting some movement. It is just so vast. It is a disaster and we need to see it. I think we need to come every three months. There is no change at all."

Rep. Monica Walker, D-Hessmer, who had toured the area earlier, said that based on what she saw Monday, "it doesn't look like anything is getting done. This (tour) helps the cause. I don't think that we are the ones who need convincing." Walker said more members of Congress and the Bush administration should be on the buses.

All true and poignant thoughts. What is most sobering and painful is that out of Louisiana's 39 State Senators, only 23 of them took part in the bus tour. To pull from a wonderful Times-Picayune editorial:

"...Gov. Kathleen Blanco had good reason to ask lawmakers to take a bus tour of the metro area Monday to kick off the special legislative session. Legislators are going to be considering bills crucial to the recovery and long-term security of greater New Orleans. They all need to understand the urgency of these matters, and seeing how much is left to do five months after the storm would drive the point home.

Unfortunately, a significant number of lawmakers declined the governor's invitation. Fewer than half of House and Senate members took the tour."

How can anyone take any position on the situation in New Orleans without seeing it first hand? In my opinion, they cannot. Choosing not to see it is a strategic political move because it allows continued ignorance of the situation. Seeing the situation would mean accepting responsibility, feeling shame of lack of response, and having to make a commitment to work towards a solution. Ignoring the situation or belittling it (ahem, State of the Union) allows for politics as usual.

The Bush administration rants on and on about the monies it has allocated to Gulf States... but just who is getting the funds? Although Louisiana suffered well over 75% of the housing damage from Katrina and Rita, saw ten times more businesses destroyed, experienced five times more jobs losses, weathered more than 75% of the total property and infrastructure damage, the State is receiving only 54% of the block grant funding. Further, many of the complaints lodged against Louisiana (and New Orleans, in particular), given as excuses as to why the area is getting shafted for relief attention, are false.

But who can fight with a government that rules without law and reason?

Long-standing dreams and goals for both Paul and I are what drive us to live abroad in these coming years of our lives. But the on-going decay of our country and government makes it harder to justify why we would fight to return.

Will's Secret Playdays Revealed!

Josefina brought us a CD of pictures of Will and friends over the past few days. Jude (mother to 3-year old Adam) acted as photographer (thanks -- what a nice gesture!) Now we have an idea of the kinds of things Will's been up to during the last 3 days!

Will's first tattoo!

The bad news: it doesn't say "Mom."
The good news: it is removable, but waterproof. Will is very aware of it's waterproof status; he's been pointing to it constantly after his shower tonight saying, "waterproof!"

 

Hump Day Fun

Today's events:
- Looking into why the dryer broke yesterday and finding that the non-vented lint was being sucked back up into the machine, jamming the motor, and clogging the heating element ("what is that burning smell?") We managed to fix it (clean it out) but may have the headache of negotiating repair folks for our last week here to install some type of venting.
- Looking into why the doorbell no longer works. (We can fix it but think that the owner may prefer his electrician do it, which is fine, but again: one week left.)
- My cell phone dying, twice, in the middle of Paul trying to order a pizza. We figured out the credits were out, I went across the street and bought a 20 sole card, only to have the security digits rip off making it impossible to decipher two of the code numbers.
- The home phone not working (started last night) which, thankfully, due to the help of Jim Rudolph (the afore mentioned history professor/Lima contact extraordinaire) was working in time for us to call back the pizza place and finish our order. Will enjoyed watching the fix-it man up the telephone pole, listing back and forth while I held my breath.
- Sugar ants discovered that the lid wasn't completely sealed on the cookie container. Have I mentioned that the number one reason I'm pressing for an apartment when we move back is because I *hate* sugar ants??
- Will being gone all day on a playdate (we missed him!) and coming home with his first tattoo.

The rest of the week:
- Class tomorrow morning for me, then an appointment at PRISMA to turn over an interview tape for transcription. Friday will be spent in Pachacutec, a fairly new pueblo joven on the far outskirts of Northern Lima -- I'm going here with Barbara, the nun Gwen and I had breakfast with a few weeks ago. Saturday, we'll have lunch at Jim's in Chorrillos (a community south of here). Hopefully, we'll be able to get together with Jude (who recommended Josefina and is here visiting and whose son Will is spending his days with lately) before we leave next week.


Here is Will, in bed and ready for "binky time" after his long day of hard and fast playtime. 

Playtime for Will

Will has a great time with Josefina. The general daily schedule is that when she arrives at 8, they leave for the park. Usually, she comes back with him around lunch time for food and a nap -- although most days (and the easiest days) he falls asleep in the stroller on the way back to the house. While he sleeps, Josefina helps around the house (cleaning, cooking, laundry... whatever needs to be done) and generally Paul orI play or help out with Will after his naptime and do our best to make sure Josefina goes home around 5. (Note: she offers to stay late and even expected to stay until Will was in bed each day when she first came! We encourage her to rest each afternoon and go home at 5 to be with her family. She really exemplifies the hard-working ethics and attitudes of so many of the wonderful Peruvians we've encountered.)

The last few days, Will has been off visiting with the family that Josefina worked for prior to coming to us; they are back in the country for a visit. (Side note: we are completely enamored with this family -- our conversations reflect similar ideologies, we both are vegetarian, etc., etc.) Today, Jude (free-lance journalist and general cool-mom extraordinare) called to check whether it was okay for Will and Josefina to join them into the afternoon. It ended up that Will spent the entire day with them! We didn't see him until 6:30 this afternoon -- I don't think he missed us a bit. When folks remark on how independent, confident, and self-assured our kid us, we must admit -- they aren't kidding!!